Did your joints survive obesity?

I am 20 months out and enjoying my weight loss of 175 pounds with all of the joy and grattitude you can imagine! I am 44 years old and hit the obese category about age 30. Through those years I started to suffer from foot pain (steroid injections, orthotics, ughh!), knee pain, hip pain, back pain, just the aching body of someone carrying around 325 pounds on a frame not meant to carry that around. As I had hoped, as the pounds have come off my mobility has improved. It really dramatically improved within a couple of months, and has gotten to where now I am positively zippy. I look and feel slender and able, but I unfortunately have joint damage from those years of abuse. As all of you who have shared this wonderful journey of WLS can relate....I have an impulse to dance, skydive, horseback ride, kickbox, ski, run for goodness sake! The whole trend also includes driving in a convertable, wearing cute clothes....I'm sure you all have your own urges surging to the surface. We really need to coin our own name for this returning to LIFE because mid-life crisis doesn't apply (though that term comes to mind while I drive my mini-van and start thinking I belong in that convertable). Back to the point - all I really want to do is exercise and live my regular daily life. My feet never hurt anymore (yeah!) but the knee hurts with all excercise other than swimming, hips hurt if I walk too much, shoulders have joint pain. I went to an orthopedic surgeon to asses the damage. My knee is bone on bone and will need to be replaced. He thinks the shoulder tendonitis is from all of the hoisting myself up and down when I was so heavy, and may improve. Didn't ask about my hips. I don't hear many of you complain about joint issues. I get envious about all the accounts about excercise, because I am still limited to only swimming. I WANT to do more. I am really looking forward to getting plastic surgery, but feel like I have to take into account the knee replacement and think if my family and I can weather two big surgeries within the next five years. It seems that many of the troubling health conditions that the obesity caused are being reversed for foks (yes!!) but the joint one doesn't seem so forgiving. Have any of you had your joints continue to improve as time passes? Patty

Patty, My joint issues improved tremendously after losing 150 pounds, but they're still there. I can't use a treadmill to exercise since I can't work up a sweat before my knees start bothering me. I can use an eliptical machine though for a good long time without a problem. I could never wear heels as a pre-op, but now can wear high heels for a good part of the day before my knees start complaining. My joints didn't continue to improve after the weight loss stopped as the damage has already been done. However, one thing that helped me tremendously were glucosomine/chondroiton supplements. My doc recommended them, and within a month, the difference was amazing. I kind of started taking it for granted until I ran out one time and didn't buy more right away. Within a couple of weeks, my joints were aching again, especially my knees and hands. Check with your doc... they REALLY help. Just make sure you take ones that dissolve. Some brands I've tried are hard as a rock and I know I'm not absorbing them since they'll sit in water all day and not dissolve. I recently purchased it in liquid form. Tastes gross, but works great. Linda

HI guys ... prior to surgery, I thought my aches and pains would be historty! Well, not so, I'm afraid. After 2-1/2 years and about 130 pounds down, the pain got so bad after being on the treadmill, and I knew I had to do something when my left knee would buckle and give out as I walked upstairs after a treadmill routine. I did a series of 3 Cortizone/Synvisc injections in my left knee, which helped to a point, but a month later the pain was starting to come back. Although I'm still not where I was when the knee was giving out on me (I haven't returned to the treadmill yet though either), the doc is now suggesting arthroscopic surgery ... I have extremely thinning cartilage (also a little osteoarthritis), particularly in my left knee, where I also have an old injury which slid my patella a little off the center of my knee. My right knee is also bothering me, but nowhere near the degree of my left. The kicker is, now I'm feeling hip pain (don't recall that before surgery), particularly in my right hip! SO ... I am pretty disappointed that these particular pains were not eased by surgery. My doc also did suggest the glucosamine, etc. ... I think I'll have to give that a try (thanks for the advice to get it in liquid form!) ... Good luck to you guys ... Karyn

I have bad knees from before WLS and they are still bad. Better than before but rainy weather makes me feel like 83 instead of 43. I know it will never change and I really don't want more surgery. It is not that bad (yet). I guess I was lucky in that I had the surgery before too much damage happened. I will admit that after working all day on my feet my legs and feet ache and my knees do need a rest but I chalk that up to not being 21 anymore.

I don't know that my joints have improved, but with 300 pounds less to support and move, the pain has reduced to a more bearable level. I have DDD, so the pain meds for that cover my joint pain well. At 500+ pounds, my heals and ankles were extremely painful, my knees were slightly less so. Hip pain was situational. At my current weight, my heal pain is non-existant. Ankle pain only when it is very cold. Knee pain is constant but not debilitating. The DDD, while not improving, is less painful what with supporting 300 pounds less. I'm running while I can, because it won't be long before I can't. I take Glucosomine and Controitin to give my joints all the help I can. Recently, I am giving MSM a shot to see if I can detect a difference. Tek

stupid questions ... sorry, my decoder ring is broken ... DDD? MSM? Karyn

DDD = Degenerative Disk Disease. MSM = Methyl Sulfonyl Methane. It is widely used around the world for relief of pain from arthritis, back pain or muscle pain. Sorry, I usually spell things out before I use Acronyms. Tek

Yeah, I know ... you're very thorough! (that's why I had to harass you)

My knees, ankles, feet, hips continue to generate a lot of pain eventhough I am carrying around 100 lbs less. I am assuming that the damage is done, but I'm hoping that the weight loss will help in slowing further joint damage. I come from a long line of very arthritic people. I've tried the glucosamine/chondtroitan/MSM route, of late without much noticable effect. I did notice an improvement in the past when I first started taking it, but now I don't notice any difference. The only thing that truly helps me feel like I want to move around is my daily dose of mobic. It reduces the pain to a dull roar and makes activity tolerable. Not fun, but tolerable. On a day when it is cold and damp, everything is worse. sue O.

Hi Patty, My knees got somewhat better but not the hip. I had to have a total hip replacement on the right one and the left one is acting up a little. Since I am having plastics this month to have my apron removed which will be 30+ pounds, I am hoping that that will ease the left hip before it gets worse. Good luck to you, Betty